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The Seattle Kraken are set to miss the playoffs for the third time in their four-year history. The trade deadline is approaching but they have never been a big players in their history. This year, general manager Ron Francis must fix the fatal flaw he created, their disastrous cap sheet. Just trading free agents like Brandon Tanev is not enough for the Kraken at the NHL trade deadline.
The Kraken must trade all of their pending free agents before the trade deadline on Friday. Tanev, Yanni Gourde, and Josh Mahura are the only ones on the roster. After all of them are gone, there should be even more trades before the window closes at 3 pm. With some poorly aging contracts on the books, they have to move money out to improve their team through free agency.
The NHL salary cap is set to explode, with a $7.5 million increase planned for this summer. By the time 2027-28 comes around, the cap will be $113.5 million, $25.5 million more than it is now. That makes a lot of these contracts easily absorbable for competitive teams, which the Kraken are not.
The guy Francis should be selling heavily at this deadline is Oliver Bjorkstrand. He was traded to the Kraken by the Columbus Blue Jackets before 2022-23 in a move to clear cap space. Now, Columbus has plenty of cap space and needs a scorer to help paper over injuries. He has a $5.4 million cap hit through the 2025-26 season, which Columbus could fit under their cap.
The Kraken are spending over $83 million for a roster that has produced a losing record in back-to-back seasons. Despite their low expectations, they need to change their core before the 2025 season begins.
The Kraken must sell everyone at this trade deadline
There are great free agents available at this trade deadline and the Kraken could free up money at this trade deadline. While it will be tough to win games down the stretch, trading the free agents, Bjorkstrand, and Jaden Schwartz could get them close to $20 million in available cap space. Add the cap increase and subtract Joey Daccord's extension and they would have over $20 million in free agency.
Would Mikko Rantanen or Mitch Marner come to Seattle if they offered the most amount of money? They might, even if it meant a rebuild to get Cup competitive. But adding on the fly will be easier with the cap skyrocketing and an elite piece next to Matty Beniers. Chandler Stephenson was a solid depth piece for the Golden Knights' Cup run but has not been that elite forward they need.
The Kraken's cap sheet is not in great shape but very few of their players have full no-move clauses. Jordan Eberle, Stephenson, Brandon Montour, and Vince Dunn are the only players with full protection. Those defensemen are the ones they should build around and Eberle's deal is expiring soon. These trades leave Stephenson as the only skater with a bad contract.
That leaves the goaltending situation, which will be among the most expensive in the league when the 2025-26 season begins. Phillip Grubauer is making $5.9 million through 2027 and Daccord will make $5 million when his extension kicks in. Trading Grubauer would be a summer move but could be their next cap-dump move. These won't happen at the trade deadline because most contenders don't need contenders.
The Kraken's fatal flaw is their expensive cap sheet which is producing a poor roster. For a new team searching for a hard-core fan base, they need to get Cup competitive soon. Dealing Bjorkstand, Schwartz, defenseman Jamie Oleksiak, Grubauer, and more could be the moves that finally kick the franchise into gear.
